Remains of Costa Concordia passenger found

Trial of Captain Schettino -- accused of manslaughter and abandoning the ship -- resumes as rescue teams find remains of one of the two missing passengers at the shipwreck 21 months after the accident.

Europe

08 Ekim 2013 Salı 22:42

World Bulletin/News Desk

Italian rescue teams found on Tuesday the remains of one of the missing two people from the Italian Costa Concordia Cruise ship which crashed into a reef close to Giglio Island in Italy's Tuscany region in January 2012.

The crippled 114 thousand-ton cruise ship was waiting atilt a few metres off the island for almost 20 months since the accident which left 32 people dead and its wreckage was pulled upright last month in the first step of the biggest ever salvage operation of a passenger ship, Parbuckling Project, in which 500 people from 26 countries participated for 19 hours.

The rescue operation yield its first result when the divers discovered the body of one of the two people, Maria Grazia Trecarichi and Russel Rebello, a female Italian passenger and a male Indian waiter, who were never found in the first phase of the operation.

As part of the resumed rescue operation as of September 24, remains believed to belong to the lost Russel Rebello were found by rescue teams on Tuesday, 21 months after the accident.

The 290-metre long cruise ship was carrying nearly 4,200 people on January 13, 2012 when it hit rocks off Giglio Island, capsizing and resulting in 32 deaths.

Lawsuit resumes on Monday

Captain Francesco Schettino, accused of manslaughter and abandoning the ship, is currently on trial regarding the accident.

The trial resumed on Monday of the ex-captain who was in command of the giant cruiser when it crashed into a rock formation on Giglio Island off the Tuscan coast, on January 13, 2012, causing one of Italy's largest maritime disasters.

The Italian judge has been hearing 1,040 witnesses, and the sound records from the disaster day were revealed to the audiences, a dialogue between the Captain Schettino and Roberto Ferrarini from Costa Crociere Company's crisis desk.

Schettino is being accused of multiple manslaughter and dereliction of duty for his role in the shipwreck that killed 32, forced the evacuation of thousands onboard, and caused massive economic damage to Costa Cruises company and to Giglio Island, a popular Tuscany tourist destination where the massive ship crashed.